Little Sleep
by Jarlos-Queen
Summary: I really didn't know what to call this.. With James' night terrors and frights, husband Carlos will always be there to coax him back to sleep. Two-shot
1. These Last Words

James woke up with a pain in his chest. It was hard for him to breathe, and he could barely open his eyes. "C-C-Carlos? Baby, wake up." He reached his right hand over to where Carlos lay, tapping on his chest until he woke up.

"Ngh, what is it, babe?" Carlos turned his head, looking at James. His eyes were half shut, and his light, brown hair was sticking out everywhere. It looked a lot different than it usually did: _perfect._

"I-can't-breathe, Car-los," he whined. "I-want you to know-that I-love you so much!" He wriggled his other hand from underneath his pillow and found Carlos'.

"I love you, too, Jamie."

"After I die-" James was cut short by a kiss.

"Jamie, you're not dying."

"But, but-" He gasped, dropping his head on his pillow. "After I die, feel free-to fall in love-with someone else. But make sure-he's a-good guy. Like Kendall-or Logan. You should-marry one of them."

"James, I married _you _because I love _you. _I'm not going to marry Logan, Kendall, or anyone else. Now please stop, you're overreacting." He reached over and lifted something off of James. "It's just Fox!" He held the small dog up to James' face.

"Hey, you!" James took the puppy from Carlos, sat up, and held it in his arms. "Who's a good boy?" he cooed, nuzzling into Fox's belly fur. "Hey, I can breathe!" He smiled happily at Carlos. He leaned in for a kiss, and Carlos kissed back. He brought his hands to James' face and he quickly deepened the kiss. Carlos pulled back to look at James. He then pressed his forehead against his.

"See? I told you you were overreacting. You're not dying anytime soon. Now, it's three in the morning, try and get some rest." He curled up awkwardly next to James, leaving his legs where they originally were. James wrapped both his arms around him, then looked down at the end of the bed. Sydney had been sleeping on Carlos' legs the whole time, and James had whined about a small weight on his chest.

"I'm sorry, babe. I overreacted," he whispered into his husband's hair.

"It's okay; I figured you hadn't noticed Syd. And I'm used to her sleeping on me, so it doesn't hurt." James kissed the top of his head and soon heard soft snores. He smiled, falling into a light sleep, himself.


	2. Tell Me I'm Dreaming

So he went back to sleep.

All of a sudden, James was in the middle of a sidewalk somewhere. He was alone in the near-darkness, with only a single street lamp glowing. He was shrouded in white and couldn't see anything. He shivered. It was snowing. James pulled his hood over his head, and his scarf over his face. He jammed his hand into his pocket and felt his phone. He took it out and looked at it. He had one new text from an unknown number.

_Where's Carlos?_

He shivered again, but not because he was cold.

_Where'd you lose him, James?_

"I..lost him?" he thought aloud. He sent a text back, asking what the sender meant.

_You lost him._

_ "What are you saying?"_

_ Walk forward. _

As he read the text, his feet started moving. Before he could regain control over his own feet, they stopped.

_You lost Carlos. _

James stared at the text, then down at his feet.

A body.

A frost-bitten body.

A lost body.

Lost.

_Carlos!_

James threw his phone to the side, sizzling in the snow. He held the body in his arms. "Baby, wake up! Car, baby, wake up!" He got another text, but ignored it. He cradled the body in his arms, sobbing into Carlos' frozen chest. He gripped his jacket, which was icy and felt fragile. He let go, moving the body so he could look at its face. He bit his lip, holding back a scream as he caressed Carlos' cheek. Tears ran down his face and landed on Carlos with a soft tinkling. James watched his tears stain Carlos' frozen cheeks, which made him cry even more. He looked back down at Carlos.

"This is all my fault!" he yelled into the silence of the night. "Why you? It should've been _me!_" He recieved another text, accompianed by mysterious laughter. James punched the ground, wincing in pain afterward. "Why? Why? Why? Why..? Why...?" As he cried, the tears froze onto his face. Soon, his whole face froze. Then his arms. Then his legs. Then the rest of his body. He curled into Carlos as he died, with stray, unfrozen tears falling onto Carlos.

James woke up crying. He looked over at the digital clock. 4:30 AM. He wiped away a few tears, but more came when he looked at Carlos. He looked so peaceful. So peaceful, in fact, he almost looked dead. He gently removed Carlos' arms from around his waist and got out of bed. He walked into their bathroom and stared at himself. His eyes were puffy and red, and his hair was sticking out everywhere. There was a little sweat on his forehead, and he noticed his lip trembling. He sat down on the toilet seat and started crying again. He buried his face in his hands. He couldn't stop thinking of how horrible the dream was. Carlos' fingers were gone. Frost-bitten off. All that had remained were bloody stumps. His eyes were glued closed with ice, and were also bleeding. His lips were terribly chapped and had lots of cuts. His normally tan skin had looked whiter than the snow he was laying in. He wished he could forget, but his subconscious wouldn't let him.

"James?"

Carlos stood in the doorway, staring at him. "James?"

James stayed silent. He hid his face as best as he could, but Carlos could still tell he was crying.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Carlos held James in his arms, kissing the top of his head.

"I..had a nightmare. That's all."

"About?"

James gulped. "I was-it was snowing a-and I was alone and y-you.." He started crying again, and Carlos came to his rescue.

"Oh, baby, it's okay! Now, just tell me the rest." He ran a hand through James' hair, which always calmed him down. He sniffled.

"Well, y-you were..on the g-ground and you were...dead. So you h-had died and I-I was getting texts-s a-and.."

Carlos kissed his forehead. "Honey, I'm sorry you had a bad dream." James wrapped his arms around Carlos.

"Thank you so much, Carlos. I'm so lucky to have you. I love you, baby."

"I love you too, James." Carlos kissed his husband, tasting the salty tears on his lips. "Do you wanna go back to sleep?"

James shook his head. "But I'll still go to bed."

"C'mere." James wrapped his arms and legs around Carlos, who carried him to their bed. he set him down gently on his side of the bed, turning a lamp on. "Here's your book, if you want to read it." He handed James a large book. "And here's some water if you get thirsty." He handed James a half-empty water bottle.

"Thank you, sweetheart." James took a swig of water.

"You're welcome." Carlos kissed the back of his neck as he spooned him.

"I love you so much. You make me feel safe," James whispered.

"I love you, too. And I like making you feel safe." Carlos smiled, wrapping a leg around one of James'. The brunette smiled, turning off his lamp. "I think I'm ready for sleep, now. I've got my Carlos to protect me."

"Goodnight, Jamie. Sleep tight."

"Goodnight, Carlos. You, too."

The two nodded into sleep, with big-spoon-Carlos to protect them from any harm.


End file.
